Christopher Byford - Den of Shadows

The Gambler’s Den weaves its away across the desert… But will it stop at your station?

While fighting off poverty in the blistering desert heat a travelling casino offers one night of solace. One chance to change your fortunes. But once on board there is more to the show than meets the eye: enter Franco, the elaborate ringleader, Wyld the stowaway thief and Misu the fire breathing showgirl.

In a kingdom ruled by the law Franco ensures his den remains in line. But when he’s faced with saving the fate of the train, and those on board, he may be forced to break his own rules. Life on the den isn’t just a job but a way of life and once you’re in you’ll never be able to leave.

Perfect for fans of Caraval, Rebel of the Sands and The Night Circus.

Den of Shadows

Christopher Byford

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Cover

Blurb The Gambler’s Den weaves its away across the desert… But will it stop at your station? While fighting off poverty in the blistering desert heat a travelling casino offers one night of solace. One chance to change your fortunes. But once on board there is more to the show than meets the eye: enter Franco, the elaborate ringleader, Wyld the stowaway thief and Misu the fire breathing showgirl. In a kingdom ruled by the law Franco ensures his den remains in line. But when he’s faced with saving the fate of the train, and those on board, he may be forced to break his own rules. Life on the den isn’t just a job but a way of life and once you’re in you’ll never be able to leave. Perfect for fans of Caraval, Rebel of the Sands and The Night Circus.

Title Page Den of Shadows Christopher Byford ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Author Bio CHRISTOPHER BYFORD was born in 1980 in Wellingborough, England. He learnt to walk whilst holding onto a Golden Retriever and fondly remembers the days of BMX bikes and conker matches. He left college to suffer as an IT Manager for a small multinational before, in his words, escaping to Gloucester. After working for some large tech companies he seized the opportunity to become a full time author. It was the best thing he’s ever done. In the last few years Chris has penned various tales, DEN OF SHADOWS being his most prominent. Away from literary things, his interests include all things VW Campervans, gardening, photography, astronomy and chicken keeping. He finds talking about himself in the third person rather pedantic and could murder a cold pint of cider right about now.

Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Den of Shadows was the product of grit, determination and outright stubbornness on my part but like all things, required the input of others to become what you read now. Not thanking these individuals would be inappropriate. My father, Allan, who seeded the concept for Den of Shadows in my youth despite being completely unaware of this. My wife Emma. No greater muse could there be for someone such as I. You helped me forge the underlying concept into something respectable. Corinne, Hayley & Debs, for providing much needed spirit for some characters. All the great team at HQ for their hard work, especially Hannah who saw something worthwhile to share to the world. And to you, reading this now. Thank you for coming along for the journey.

Dedication To all those who proved that chance, luck and good fortune can pay off, no matter the stakes. For my mother and father.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Copyright

CHRISTOPHER BYFORD

was born in 1980 in Wellingborough, England. He learnt to walk whilst holding onto a Golden Retriever and fondly remembers the days of BMX bikes and conker matches. He left college to suffer as an IT Manager for a small multinational before, in his words, escaping to Gloucester. After working for some large tech companies he seized the opportunity to become a full time author. It was the best thing he’s ever done.

In the last few years Chris has penned various tales, DEN OF SHADOWSbeing his most prominent.

Away from literary things, his interests include all things VW Campervans, gardening, photography, astronomy and chicken keeping.

He finds talking about himself in the third person rather pedantic and could murder a cold pint of cider right about now.

Acknowledgements

Den of Shadows was the product of grit, determination and outright stubbornness on my part but like all things, required the input of others to become what you read now. Not thanking these individuals would be inappropriate.

My father, Allan, who seeded the concept for Den of Shadows in my youth despite being completely unaware of this.

My wife Emma. No greater muse could there be for someone such as I. You helped me forge the underlying concept into something respectable.

Corinne, Hayley & Debs, for providing much needed spirit for some characters.

All the great team at HQ for their hard work, especially Hannah who saw something worthwhile to share to the world.

And to you, reading this now. Thank you for coming along for the journey.

To all those who proved that chance, luck

and good fortune can pay off, no matter the stakes.

For my mother and father.

Chapter One

The Arrival

Everyone in Surenth deserved one fine time regardless of their status.

Not that any who lived in the region would confess to expecting such a thing.

The lush green kingdom of Eifera was a paradise compared to other nations. Rolling hills were peppered with mountain ranges, bountiful forests harboured lakes and rivers, with abundant wildlife that ascended to the fabulous. Everything was plentiful and living was joyous.

This delight all came at a cost.

Rather than allow the beautiful landscape to be scarred with quarries and pits, the nation decided to source its raw materials in a place already awash with natural ruin. Far southwards, past the mountain range that served as a natural partition, where the climate grew drier and the living much harder, was the region of Surenth, home to the Sand Sea.

The moniker came about from the expanse of desert that ran through the lands from top to bottom. It was enclosed by numerous natural deficits: canyons that dipped and rose, forcing the shifting sands to be contained in a natural, mountain-flanked basin. The Sand Sea was the first thing anybody saw when venturing into the region and also undoubtedly the last.

The only people who ventured to Surenth did so with the intent of making their fortune or with the intent of never being seen again. Its grizzly reputation as a dangerous, lawless place did plenty to encourage fireside stories and children’s tales, used mainly to scare and rarely to entertain. It was difficult to venture to or from the terrain, even more inhospitable to live in. It was a blank space on many a map and remained that way for quite some time, until the settlers formed a route, establishing the frontier.

The prospect of money to be made encouraged rushes for every ore imaginable, coaxing scores in convoy to the most prosperous locations to begin building settlements. Mines followed soon after, using the concept of blasting out the rock with dynamite to reach any metals the land harboured. Whilst dead on the surface, Surenth was found to be concealing an abundance of riches beneath. Seams of ores, metals, and minerals were corpulent. To collect, all one had to do was survive the land, which was a hardship in itself.